Thin-Film Photovoltaic – Features, Applications and Development

Until recently, analyses of the photovoltaic industry tended to lump all thin film technologies together. And until recently, this view made sense. Wafer-based silicon technologies accounted for more than 90 percent of the total market. Thin film silicon accounted for almost all of the rest, with other technologies little more than rounding error. Times have changed. The overall market has rocketed upward. Driven in part by a shortage of silicon, and in part by the rise of building-integrated photovoltaics, thin film photovoltaics now account for about 23 percent of a much larger pie.